The Hunter's Mark
by inviziblew
Summary: This takes place after Jeremy has convinced everyone that he has cured himself of the hunter's curse, Elena decides it is okay to live with him again, and then chaos... Also, i don not own any of these characters or locations, all rights reserved.
1. The Hunter's Mark

Both dismayed, Stefan and Damon descend on the Gilbert house "We have to do something before he kills her" Stefan claims in an alarmed tone, "I know" Damon reluctantly replies. Jeremy is whittling at the desk in his room when he stops and ponders the stake he has created, looking at it so hopefully because it might somehow bring an end to all this suffering this town has gone through. An oblivious Elena starts walking toward the kitchen when she catches a glimpse of Jeremy guiding a stake into his leg "Jeremy, what are you doing?!" she yells. Hearing the uproar Stefan and Damon speed into the house and up the stairs to discover the situation the Gilberts are in. Trying to reason Jeremy asserts "Elena, you're my sister; I can't risk hurting you again." However, she won't hear any of it "You won't Jeremy, Matt, he'll help you get through this, he can help you get through this." Jeremy quickly retorts "What does Matt know? He's not a hunter; he doesn't know how strong the urge is to kill you. He does not know the duty that has fallen on me. This is destiny Elena!" He steps closer to her, but the Salvatore brothers quickly plant themselves in between the ever closing gap before Jeremy can get too close. Before anyone gets a chance to wonder or explain Jeremy begins "There are only two choices here; you can either kill me…" Jeremy lunges forward with a stake to attack Damon; he succeeds in puncturing his ribs, but does not get a clear shot to his heart. Stefan quickly reacts by throwing Jeremy across the room. Elena is crying and shouting names that fade into the atmosphere because of their sheer uselessness. Jeremy only needs a moment to recover before he shoots another stake at Stefan. Damon has removed his stake and looks over to Elena only to find her gone. Elena is now running after Jeremy who has scooted towards the stairs of the Gilbert home. She comes down the stairs recklessly and is received with a knife to the stomach. Jeremy has made it to the kitchen now, and is using anything and everything as a weapon. His hunter instincts have finally devoured any recognizable aspect of his personality and all that remains is a killer. Damon rushes to Elena's aid and they exchange a look that only lasts for a millisecond, but in that fraction of a gaze they shared everything that was essential. Stefan has continued the fight with Jeremy in the kitchen, each exchanging blows that would knock out a building. With each knife that Jeremy rams into Stefan, he wears out the pretty boy exterior that precedes him. Stefan fights with all the power he has but it isn't enough, Jeremy is too strong and to determined to rip his head off. Elena and Damon have finally made their way into the kitchen just in time to see Jeremy snap Stefan's neck, leaving Stefan with a last look at Elena and his brother. Damon, being blinded by rage, speeds to Jeremy and grabs him by his throat. With Jeremy at the will of Damon Salvatore, the room becomes motionless. Heavy breaths and microscopic cricket chirps are all that can be heard in the now infinite space of the Gilbert house. Elena finally says "Damon." His stare reaches so far into Jeremy's soul that in the very fabric of his mind Jeremy is held captive. "Let him go" Elena barely murmurs into the heavy atmosphere, while she moves closer to them. She barely strokes his shoulder, but he wanes at her slightest touch and thus immediately releases Jeremy. He turns to face her, full of wrath, fear, and also shame. He just wants to protect the ones he loves most, the only people in the universe that can bring him any kind of peace in his eternal life. He feels he failed and she sees this in him; she can see that his wild anger is just barley covering his greater wounds. While returning his gaze she reaches up to his face with her hand and lets him rest in her palm. He welcomes her gentle embrace as it gives him everything he needs to be whole, to remember to have faith that this will all be fixed. Jeremy observes the two very carefully with an expression that could be mistaken for disgust, and then he spends a few moments to acknowledge the tender look that both of them share, and he remembers Anna and Vicki. He opens his mouth to say "Or I kill you" and then he drives a stake into Damon's heart, weaving it in to destroy every artery. Damon gasps for breath while staring into Elena's eyes, and as he begins to collapse to the floor, Elena reaches to catch him in her arms. Terror has shrouded her face as she attempts to get out any sort of cry for help, the tears flooding her face barley make into Damon's view before he closes his eyes. "No!" her roar finally comes in clear, "no, no, no, no, no, no, no." She holds his head in her lap and brings his lifeless body closer to her. She sobs unwieldy while soft shrieks escape her lips and it has finally awoken Stefan. He converges on the crumbled figures that are Elena and Damon. Nobody has to tell him that his brother is dead but with tears in his eyes and rage in his veins Stefan asks "Where is Jeremy?" Elena finally looks up and notices that Jeremy is long gone "I_" she can't even shove a sentence out into the earth shattering silence, but she tries again. "I don't know Stefan" He looks at how destroyed she is and reaches for her hand, she accepts and he kneels down to the floor next to Damon. Stefan finally wills himself to look at his brother, and upon seeing his unresponsive figure he bursts out "I'm sorry Damon! I'm sorry for everything." Stefan then looks to Elena who is still overwhelmed with tears and claims "Bonnie, Bonnie can fix this, Bonnie can bring him back." Elena nods in agreement and says "make the call."


	2. Hello, Goodbye

"I know what you're thinking Damon, but Bonnie said that Jeremy is in the clear with his hunter impulses" Elena claims as she packs her final bags. " 'Lena just because broom Hilda says he's fine doesn't mean he is and I don't want you to leave me." Elena's eyes wander to Damon's and with bitter frustration she says "I know," with only a bed between them they were reminded of what distance will actually mean "but he's my brother and I miss him, I'm the only one he has left." Damon broke their stare and looked around his room; he was going to miss waking up next to Elena more than anything in the world, but he knew she was right and he couldn't stand in her way. "Can you call every day before you go to sleep?" Elena smiled at the charming request Damon just made, how was it even possible that he could manage to say something so innocent and mean it? With the thought still soaking in, she replied "of course." Her bags finally packed Damon escorts her to the door and when she leaves she says "Don't _pout_, I'll be seeing you." He closed the door and turned to the undeniably empty Salvatore boarding house when there was knock on the door. Damon perked up in hopes that maybe Elena had forgotten something, because _he_ did. The door swings open but sadly it is only his brother. "Elena left?" Stefan looks confused as he walks into their home. "Bonnie told Elena that Jeremy was good as new, so she wanted to be with him." "Huh" Stefan replies and this leaves Damon very perturbed, why is it that Stefan never has a straight answer, with Damon's nerve getting the best of him he says "Do you have something to say little bro?" Stefan glanced at Damon and then proceeded to his room and whilst walking up the stairs he finally replies "I have nothing to say to you Damon." "Whatever broody prince" Damon shouts to a Stefan that is no longer visible. You'd think that for being able to live in his own home again, Stefan would be more cheery but then again maybe not. Damon resolves to pour himself a drink and try NOT to think about Elena, which for him would be nearly impossible.

At the Gilbert house all looks fine and well. Elena walks in to see Jeremy in the kitchen and drops all her bags "Jeremy!" He looks up and smiles, running to hug her and leaves all of his food behind. "Man I missed you." They hold each other for a moment when Elena asks "Where is Matt?" "Oh, he and April went to hangout at the grill or something" "Matt and April?" Elena questions." Ya, I guess she wanted to thank him for something I don't know." Elena looks at her brother with such content and he returns her happiness with a kiss to her cheek. Elena missed her brother, he is the only one she had left, the only family she had left; and she wanted nothing more than to be with him, to protect him, and to make sure he was okay. "How did you do it Jer? How did you learn to control your urges?" Jeremy flashes a big smile and says "yoga" and they both share a laugh, a moment like this is what they missed most, but when it was over Elena had a face of sincere interest on her face. Jeremy begins "Matt has been keeping me focused on school and fun and Bonnie learned some new magic from Professor Shane and it counter acts the mark's magic or something, I can't even see it anymore." Elena looks puzzled and then amused at the sad truth that no one really knows how any of this magic stuff works, but none of it matters really because she has her brother back. "Jeremy, do you remember the time when you snuck out of the house and I had to break a vase so that you could sneak back in?" Jeremy laughs and replies "Why did you think that would work?" Elena chuckles "I was trying to distract them, and it _did_ work." Jeremy gripes "Maybe, but you got in trouble for breaking one of our family heirlooms." "You were always looking out for me." "Jer that's my job, I'm your big sister and I'm always going to look at for you." Afterwards Jeremy picked up Elena's bags and helped her unpack her stuff upstairs.

The next day Stefan awoke to an alarming voice mail from Klaus "Word is that Jeremy quit being a hunter, well I hate to break this to you Stefan but the only witch who can break the hunter's curse is dead. Next time you might want to consider the billion year old-hybrid before you get Elena killed!" Even when exasperated Klaus still has the debonair of a royal, Stefan quickly runs to Damon's room upon hearing the information however. "Damon, wake up!" Damon lays spread eagle on a bed he no longer shares and it kills him to hear Stefan's voice when he says 'wake up!" Yet, with the will of a soldier he responds to Stefan "What is it now eager beaver?" Damon begins to dress his body when Stefan says "we need to get Elena, now." Damon suddenly feels more awake "why what's wrong?" A restless Stefan replies "Klaus just told me that there is no way to get rid of the hunter's curse, Elena is in danger." Damon has just been shot into a world of hurt, Elena was so thrilled to be with her brother again and now he has to rip them apart before he kills her.


	3. Lessons in History

Lessons in History

It was a beautiful day in Mystic Falls. The town was filled with the symphony of life that normally plays, the birds were singing their usual harmonies, the cars were keeping the rhythm, and the people occupied any silent gaps. Today in particular was especially pleasant because there was perfect weather to accompany the town's already wonderful orchestra. It was such a shame that Elena could not enjoy this day to the fullest, but there was studying to be done, and being reminded of the beautiful day Elena decided to move her studies indoors. The Salvatore boarding house was much grander than Elena ever noticed, but she was confident that she would be able to study in the library. After dropping all her supplies on the desk, she walked the perimeter, letting her hand gently touch the spine of every book on the shelf. There was so much history here, not just in these books, but in the house itself, and it gave Elena just enough comfort to sit down with her books and begin studying. No sooner did she read the first paragraph of her text when Damon walked in the room. "What are you studying for? It's a beautiful day you should be having fun!" The verve in his statement made Elena cringe, she knows how beautiful it is outside and she did not want any more reminders. Looking up at him she claimed "I need to study. With all the commotion that's been plaguing our lives; I haven't had any time for school." Damon chuckled for a good thirty seconds when he finally looked back at Elena "You're a vampire now; you don't need to be on the honor roll." He claimed while a huge grin settled on his face, but Elena did not look so pleased "No, Damon, but I do need to pass. The point is to make it out of high school." Damon continued his loving gaze, reveling in the bookworm that Elena was at the moment. "What are you studying?" Elena lifted up her history textbook and said "What else?" A smirk perched on Damon's face "What specifically?" Elena strayed from her notes and said "The 21st amendment of the constitution. Im gonna write an essay for extra credit." "Ah prohibition. That was an interesting time, kingpins, speakeasies, and drunken girls everywhere." Elena perked up, how much easier would it be to learn from Damon rather than a book "What was it like back then?" she said with a growing enthusiasm. Damon was wandering around the room tracing the same shelf of books with his hand like Elena had done earlier "Well what do you want to know Elena?" Curious and eager, Elena pondered the question for a moment "Tell me a story Damon; tell me what you did during that time." Damon took a seat on top of the desk "Well I had no clue where Stefan was, and I wanted to find him, after the incident in 1912, I had to make sure he hadn't fallen off the edge. " Elena listened intently, waiting for him to continue "It's actually a funny story. It was New York, 1925, I had eyes and ears poking around looking for him, and I finally got a lead. Word on the street was that Stefan worked at speakeasy in Brooklyn. So I scoped out the place, creeping around to see if he was there but I had no luck. Now don't get me wrong here, I wasn't going to run into his arms once I saw him, I was just checking in." Elena began to visualize Damon in the era, wearing a classic suit tailored to his chiseled body, she even laughed at the idea of him walking around with a cane. The whole thought made her more than giddy, but she would have to wait until after this paper was done for that. Damon glanced at Elena to see if she was paying attention, he had noticed that she was drifting off into some sort of daydream, and knowing full well what it was, he placed his hand on top of hers and flashed a wicked grin "Earth to Elena." Trying to regain her poise Elena nodded him to continue. "I was getting ready to move on when I decided to check one last time, and BAM there he was, rolling with a mob." Elena gasped in an amused but mocking voice and Damon continued "Now these guys were notorious for running alcohol, and they made a killing off of it." Elena was in awe, this was better than a movie "What did you do?" "Well I decided to make a scene in the club, throwing one of the tables on its back, and Stefan came out rushing, you should have seen the look on his face." Elena was surprised Damon was so different before, she could never imagine him doing something like that now; it was just another reminder of how much Damon has changed. "What are you doing here?" Stefan groaned "I came to see you brother." Stefan gave a permissive nod to his fellow gangsters letting them no Damon was okay. "Vinnie, empty out one of the back rooms!" Stefan clamored. "He led me to this back 'office' with his peacock posse following suit, and he and I had a little chat." Looking around the crowded back room Damon continued "What's with the rat pack Stefan?" Stefan nodded again and all but two left. "When you rank high enough in the organization you get protection." Damon scoffed "What do you need protection for?" A scowl appeared on Stefan's face "They don't know what I am, and I intend to keep it that way." "Are you still feeding on people?" Damon questioned with furtive intuition. Stefan smiled and said "Remember I don't _need _protection." Damon looked at Elena, wanting to see her face at his next admission "Just then Stefan snapped his fingers and one of the body guards comes over, and Stefan sunk his fangs into the guy's artery and killed him in a matter of minutes." Elena's eyes widened, she had known Stefan was a ripper but the stories still made her cringe deep down, but Damon continued "Well unfortunately, the mob boss walked in and saw Stefan in all his ripper glory and screamed." He laughed at the memory and said "Elena there is nothing funnier than a mob boss' scream." Still laughing Damon exclaims "We ended up fighting this entire crew of gangsters and killed all of them," Elena was not amused "I don't see how this is funny Damon." Damon smiled, "and that's how Al Capone's nephew disappeared." Elena was stunned "You killed Al Capone's nephew!" Damon smirked "And a few other people." Elena was flabbergasted; Damon had encountered one of the most infamous crime families of the century and actually became a part of history. "Well Damon the bad news is I can't write a paper on that," smiling she said "there is no way my teacher would believe me." Damon shrugged his shoulders "Is there any good news?" Elena looked up at him showing off a seductive smile "The good news is I don't need to study anymore." Damon was caught off guard, not that he wasn't prepared, he loved the surprise. Elena got up a placed a kiss on his lips, leaving afterward. Watching her leave Damon stood up "You want me to chase you?" Elena raised an eyebrow, loving him with her eyes, encouraging him to follow, and then she was out of sight. Damon grinned with anticipation as he too left the room. Now the library was empty, holding this new memory, writing it down in its history, and recording it forever.


End file.
